Space Station Partners Release International Docking Standard
“The International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board (MCB) has approved a docking system standard. The international standard will provide guidelines for a common interface to link future spacecraft ranging from crewed to autonomous vehicles and from low-Earth orbit to deep-space exploration missions.”
Letter To Charles Bolden From Representatives Larsen, Boustany, and Kirk (PDF)
“As NASA develops the new Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) based on the work already done on the Orion crew capsule, the U.S. should begin discussions on a common docking ring between the CRV, Shenzhou and Soyuz. While serious security concerns exist, a joint rescue capability enabling the U.S, China and Russia to rescue each other’s space crews should be common sense, and we urge NASA’s attention to this matter.”
Keith’s note: Well, it looks like this issue is now more than resolved since anyone with Internet access can download this IDSS Interface Definition Document – China, India, Bigelow, SpaceX …
